1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a carrier device for a thermal transfer medium. More specifically, it relates to a carrier device which is provided with at least a spool for winding and supporting a thermal transfer medium including a thermal transfer sheet and/or a thermal transfer receiving sheet, and may be further provided with other parts such as a cassette for supporting the spool, which is capable of providing an effective means for identifying the kinds, determining fake goods, calculating the use amount, or the like.
The present invention also relates to a method and apparatus for identifying the kinds of a thermal transfer sheet or a thermal transfer receiving sheet, determining fake goods, and detecting the use amount, using the above-mentioned carrier device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A thermal transfer sheet comprises a substrate film or sheet which is usually a plastic film made of a polyethylene terephthalate or the like, one surface of which is provided with a thermal fusible coloring material transfer layer made of a pigment or a dye and a binder resin or the like, or a thermal diffusible coloring material transfer layer, and the other surface of which may be provided with a thermal resistant lubricant layer. This is in general supported by a cylindrical spool (or a “reel” in the other word) in a state wound around for a desired length or for a length of a predetermined number of displaying frame so as to be mounted on a predetermined printer and used. The above-mentioned spool is in most cases made of a paper or a resin. The spool is sometimes equipped with accessory portions such as a gear, a notch, or a collar, a flange or the like for the need in terms of drive or for the convenience in terms of mounting on a printer or a cassette. Moreover, depending on the printer, a cassette (or a “cartridge” in other word) storing the spool winding and supporting a thermal transfer sheet together with the other spool for winding up a consumed thermal transfer sheet is used.
As a consequence of the advance of the thermal transfer recording technique, the kinds of the thermal transfer sheets vary widely.
More specifically, in the case of the thermal fusible transfer sheet, a type using a black pigment mainly used for a facsimile, a bar code printer, or the like is the mainstream, but depending on the application, there are also a color type of a red, blue or green color, and a so-called special color (or “exclusive color”) type such as a gold, silver or a fluorescent color.
In the case of the thermal diffusible transfer sheet, a type having coloring material transfer layers of the three primary colors of yellow, magenta and cyan for a color printer each successively in the surface is basic, but there are also many kinds such as a type further added with a black coloring material transfer layer, a type added with a transferable protection layer, and a type added with a black thermal fusible transfer layer. Furthermore, there is a single color thermal transfer sheet having each coloring material transfer layer alone, and these many kinds of the thermal transfer sheets are often provided at the same time for one type of a printer according to the application.
In the case where the kinds of the thermal transfer sheets varies widely as mentioned above, identification of the kind is an important issue. For example in the case of thermal transfer recording, a thermal transfer sheet and a thermal transfer receiving sheet are used in combination, and the combination is fixed in most cases individually. More specifically, a thermal transfer receiving sheet to be not provided with the protection layer is combined with a thermal transfer sheet not having a transferable protection layer, and one of a type to be provided with the protection layer is combined with a thermal transfer sheet having a transferable protection layer. If the combination is mistaken, not only expected printing performance and durability cannot be obtained but also it may cause a malfunction or breakdown of the printer. Additionally, in the case of a printer using single color thermal transfer sheets having each coloring material transfer layer individually as mentioned above, it is the major premise that a plurality of different thermal transfer sheets are mounted correctly at the predetermined mounting positions.
Conventionally, the kind of the thermal transfer sheet has been identified according to a method of applying different colors for each type of a spool or a cassette supporting the thermal transfer sheet, applying a kind code or an abbreviated name, providing a machine identification code such as a bar code, or the like. Moreover, in addition thereto, a method of changing the shape corresponding to each kind within an extent not to hinder the function of the spool or the cassette, that is, by providing or not providing a notch or changing the number thereof, or the like is also known.
However, each of these methods has been required for improvement. The change of the color of the spool or the cassette has limitation in terms of the kinds of the colors to be used practically. Moreover, by preparing a large number of kinds of the spools of different colors, consequently increase in cost of the spool or the cassette is brought about. Furthermore, in some cases it is not preferable in terms of the design of the spool or the cassette. In the case of applying a kind code or an abbreviated name, label attachment is commonly used as the method therefor. However, a label is an extra member inherently not relating to the function of the spool or the cassette. Moreover, by adding the attaching process, the entire processes are complicated, causing increase in cost.
Moreover, since miniaturization of the printers is promoted recently, so that miniaturization of the members such as the spool and the cassette is accelerated as well, the area for attaching the label may be absent. The same problem arises in application of the bar code. Furthermore, it may not be preferable in terms of the external appearance. The change in the shape of the spool or the cassette has the same problems as in the case of the change in color.
As the thermal transfer receiving sheet, although those cut into a predetermined size of the A4 size, the A6 size, or the like have conventionally been the mainstream, those formed in a longitudinal roll-like shape and wound around and supported on a spool are also commercially available for business use. As to the roll-like thermal transfer receiving sheets, a plurality of kinds are present depending on the applications so that the same problems are involved in terms of the kind identification as in the case of the thermal transfer sheet.
Moreover, recently, with the spread of the thermal transfer recording technique, fake goods of the thermal transfer recording materials are found. The fake goods include not only a typical fake falsifying a trade name or a quality of the product, but also a product which is not a genuine goods for a target printer or, is not officially approved an adaptability by a maker or dealer of a printer or, does not satisfy compatibility for a target printer. Conventionally, not many cases are known as to the methods for determining the fake goods in the present situation.
Additionally, in the case of the above-mentioned roll-shaped thermal transfer sheet or thermal transfer receiving sheet, unlike those of the kind preliminarily cut in a desired size, the use amount thereof can hardly be detected in some cases.